“Elegantly accessible… This fair and fascinating account should delight.”

— Kirkus Reviews

"A terrific history of blogging and a convincing case for its enduring significance."

— Walter Isaacson

"Certain to be a classic."

— Howard Rheingold

Blogs are everywhere. They have exposed truths and spread rumors. Made and lost fortunes. Brought couples together and torn them apart. Toppled cabinet members and sparked grassroots movements. Immediate, intimate, and influential, they have put the power of personal publishing into everyone's hands. Regularly dismissed as trivial and ephemeral, they have proved that they are here to stay.

These blogging pioneers were the first to face new dilemmas that have become common in the era of Google and Facebook, and their stories offer vital insights and warnings as we navigate the future. How much of our lives should we reveal on the Web? Is anonymity a boon or a curse? Which voices can we trust? What does authenticity look like on a stage where millions are fighting for attention, yet most only write for a handful? And what happens to our culture now that everyone can say everything?

Before blogs, it was easy to believe that the Web would grow up to be a clickable TV -- slick, passive, mass-market. Instead, blogging brought the Web's native character into focus -- convivial, expressive, democratic. Far from being pajama-clad loners, bloggers have become the curators of our collective experience, testing out their ideas in front of a crowd and linking people in ways that broadcasts can't match.

Blogs have created a new kind of public sphere -- one in which we can think out loud together. And now that we have begun, it is impossible to imagine us stopping.